Dark academia

Gothic architecture is a common element of the dark academia aesthetic.

Dark academia is an internet aesthetic[1] and subculture[2] concerned with higher education, the arts, and literature, or an idealised version thereof. The aesthetic centres on traditional educational clothing, interior design, activities such as writing and poetry, ancient art, and classic literature, as well as classical Greek and Collegiate Gothic architecture.[3] The trend emerged on social media site Tumblr in 2015, before being popularised by adolescents and young adults in the late 2010s and early 2020s, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.[4]

  1. ^ Edwards, Caroline (April 24, 2020). "Dark Academia is the witchy literary aesthetic sweeping TikTok". i-d.vice.com. Vice Media. Archived from the original on April 15, 2021. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  2. ^ Bateman, Kristen (June 30, 2020). "Academia Lives — on TikTok". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 6, 2020. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference TikTok was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "TikTok's Dark Academia trend criticised for 'whiteness'". The Guardian. February 10, 2021. Archived from the original on February 26, 2021. Retrieved February 23, 2021.